International students ...what are your summer plans? Forum

[jamaicanjynx]

Thanks NewHere! Your post was very helpful. I'm still going to see if I can get more info from my school's international student office since my career office ppl don't know anything about F-1 --> H1B visas. How are the 3L int'l students at your school doing? Do most have firm offers?

[NewHere]

How are the 3L int'l students at your school doing? Do most have firm offers?

Yes, most people here have firm offers, which makes the whole H1B thing somewhat easier: large firms generally know how it works and are used to filing the paperwork.

Are you a 2L, jamaican?

[jamaicanjynx]

How are the 3L int'l students at your school doing? Do most have firm offers?

Yes, most people here have firm offers, which makes the whole H1B thing somewhat easier: large firms generally know how it works and are used to filing the paperwork.

Are you a 2L, jamaican?

No I'm a 1L

[charlym]

Infinitely useful thanks NewHere!
Tag

[musketeerlady]

Tag, thanks much NewHere. I've done much research myself on the OPT-H1B issue (for my job out of undergrad, not for law school), and I agree with everything you said. The only caveat is on the point with H1B for non-profit. Not all non-profit jobs qualified for non-capped H1B. There are actually very specific requirements - generally, as I recalled, the job has to be with an educational NGO (like an university), otherwise has to be research-related. I have no idea how loose "research" is defined to fit the job description of a lawyer.

I'm a 0L extremely excited to start law school next year. I would love to hear from everyone about your summer, and your law school experience in general. I'm a bit comprehensive about job prospect during summers and after law school (with all the logistic crap that us intl have to deal with), so any insight is much appreciated!

[NewHere]

That's a fair point, musketeerlady. I'm not sure what exactly the requirements are to fit the NGO category. From what I've heard, some lawyer jobs for, e.g., the ACLU, HRW, etc. qualify, but don't take my word for it. If this is what you want to do, you should research it further.

[CanadianEH]

Can anyone in LS comment on how internationals are viewed by firms? ITE it seems like ANYTHING can be counted against you, and the fact that there will be a visa process to work out can't possibly help.

[NewHere]

I don't think it matters. You may have useful language skills, and even if you don't, you'll probably have what they call 'intercultural skills' (whatever that may mean). For small firms the visa issue may be a concern; for large firms a few thousand dollars for a visa application is peanuts, even in this economy. (To put the few thousand dollars in context: for a big firm, that's the equivalent of letting one associate start one week early. Not an issue.)

[musketeerlady]

Does anyone have insight on judicial clerkship for international students? I read on another thread that only those with nationalities from "US-allied" countries would qualify. I wonder if anyone has had experience clerking?

[jamaicanjynx]

Questions for those who have gotten firm offers: At what point do you tell the employer that you will need visa sponsorship? Is it after you've gotten the offer or at some point during your callback? And who do you tell about it? I assume it wouldn't be one of the associates that interviews you. But do you mention it to any of your interviewing partners or the recruiter or a managing partner?

Sorry for the convoluted question!

[TheLuckyOne]

Questions for those who have gotten firm offers: At what point do you tell the employer that you will need visa sponsorship? Is it after you've gotten the offer or at some point during your callback? And who do you tell about it? I assume it wouldn't be one of the associates that interviews you. But do you mention it to any of your interviewing partners or the recruiter or a managing partner?

Sorry for the convoluted question!

I'm sure they know your visa status BEFORE they even interview you. This is normally the first question asked.

[jamaicanjynx]

Questions for those who have gotten firm offers: At what point do you tell the employer that you will need visa sponsorship? Is it after you've gotten the offer or at some point during your callback? And who do you tell about it? I assume it wouldn't be one of the associates that interviews you. But do you mention it to any of your interviewing partners or the recruiter or a managing partner?

Sorry for the convoluted question!

I'm sure they know your visa status BEFORE they even interview you. This is normally the first question asked.

That's odd. I've worked here before and I was hired before my employers asked me about OPT. Even with OCI, you're selected for the interview on the basis of your credentials which don't include any mention of visa status. Why do say this is "normally the first question asked"? Were you asked about it during your firm interviews?

[NewHere]

Yeah, it seems to depend on where you're interviewing. Large organizations and firms don't give a hoot. They hire hundreds of people every year, some of whom invariably need visa/OPT help. One additional international student is not going to make any difference to them. For smaller-scale employers, it may be much more problematic.

[TheLuckyOne]

Yeah, it seems to depend on where you're interviewing. Large organizations and firms don't give a hoot. They hire hundreds of people every year, some of whom invariably need visa/OPT help. One additional international student is not going to make any difference to them. For smaller-scale employers, it may be much more problematic.

I made an assumption that legal field works pretty much like any other when it comes to visa candidates. To tell the truth, the size of company is not always the most important factor. Some large ones may not want intl students for various reasons, some small ones may not care at all.

Hey, I'm not a law student, so I'm not very familiar with legal employment, though, I'm quite familiar with other fields.

As for the following:

That's odd. I've worked here before and I was hired before my employers asked me about OPT. Even with OCI, you're selected for the interview on the basis of your credentials which don't include any mention of visa status. Why do say this is "normally the first question asked"? Were you asked about it during your firm interviews?

Do you really think they don't know you're a visa candidate having reviewed your credentials? They make assumptions, in fact. On the other hand, if they are Ok with your work status, they may not even pay attention, but if they are NOT sponsoring visas, this is the first thing they look at.

[jamaicanjynx]

Yeah, it seems to depend on where you're interviewing. Large organizations and firms don't give a hoot. They hire hundreds of people every year, some of whom invariably need visa/OPT help. One additional international student is not going to make any difference to them. For smaller-scale employers, it may be much more problematic.

I made an assumption that legal field works pretty much like any other when it comes to visa candidates. To tell the truth, the size of company is not always the most important factor. Some large ones may not want intl students for various reasons, some small ones may not care at all.

Hey, I'm not a law student, so I'm not very familiar with legal employment, though, I'm quite familiar with other fields.

As for the following:

That's odd. I've worked here before and I was hired before my employers asked me about OPT. Even with OCI, you're selected for the interview on the basis of your credentials which don't include any mention of visa status. Why do say this is "normally the first question asked"? Were you asked about it during your firm interviews?

Do you really think they don't know you're a visa candidate having reviewed your credentials? They make assumptions, in fact. On the other hand, if they are Ok with your work status, they may not even pay attention, but if they are NOT sponsoring visas, this is the first thing they look at.

Maybe I should have clarified that I went to undergrad here so my resume looks no different from any other US undergrad student. I may be missing something, but I fail to see how an employer could look at my resume and *know* that I'm not American, which is why I asked when the appropriate time to discuss visa sponsorship is.

[TheLuckyOne]

Yeah, it seems to depend on where you're interviewing. Large organizations and firms don't give a hoot. They hire hundreds of people every year, some of whom invariably need visa/OPT help. One additional international student is not going to make any difference to them. For smaller-scale employers, it may be much more problematic.

I made an assumption that legal field works pretty much like any other when it comes to visa candidates. To tell the truth, the size of company is not always the most important factor. Some large ones may not want intl students for various reasons, some small ones may not care at all.

Hey, I'm not a law student, so I'm not very familiar with legal employment, though, I'm quite familiar with other fields.

As for the following:

That's odd. I've worked here before and I was hired before my employers asked me about OPT. Even with OCI, you're selected for the interview on the basis of your credentials which don't include any mention of visa status. Why do say this is "normally the first question asked"? Were you asked about it during your firm interviews?

Do you really think they don't know you're a visa candidate having reviewed your credentials? They make assumptions, in fact. On the other hand, if they are Ok with your work status, they may not even pay attention, but if they are NOT sponsoring visas, this is the first thing they look at.

Maybe I should have clarified that I went to undergrad here so my resume looks no different from any other US undergrad student. I may be missing something, but I fail to see how an employer could look at my resume and *know* that I'm not American, which is why I asked when the appropriate time to discuss visa sponsorship is.

If I were you, this would be the first thing I mentioned to avoid wasting my and employer's time. Though, again, if they cared about it they would have asked sometime before in-person interview in the company. So, I guess, they are willing to sponsor.

I dunno if you're from an English speaking country or not, but there are other cues as to whether the person is American born or not. For example, if your name is not American or you have an accent etc, it would raise red flags right away. They notice this stuff, and if they're not sure and it matters, they would most likely ask you to specify in some way. No employer wants to go through the whole process only to realize you don't fit.

Again, I don't know the process in legal field, but typically companies ask to fill out some questionnaires before/after even the first round of interviews, and citizenship is one of the standard questions.

[sam9317]

I have a couple of questions regarding the application of OPT.

1) I believe you need to have been enrolled for a full academic year before you are eligible for OPT, so does that mean us int'l JD students won't be able to apply for paid jobs/internships during the summer of 1L? (Since it can take up to 12 weeks for the whole process, so say if I wanted to begin work in June I may have to send in the application during March of my 1L, when I have not enrolled in a full academic year).

2) Can I still apply for a summer associate position in a law firm without using up my OPT time by not getting paid?

Thanks in advance to anyone who may offer some inputs regarding my question.